Abstract
Since the implementation of the Organic Law of Villagers’ Committees in the late 1980s, village election has emerged as a prominent instrument for advancing rural democracy in China. As the wave of democratisation spreads, it instills in villagers an awareness of their rights to democratic elections, democratic supervision, democratic decision making and democratic management. Few women, however, have been elected to villagers committees or assume leadership roles. Based on a project funded by the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Funds for Women, this paper uncovers the social, cultural, economic and institutional obstacles that stand in the way of improving women’s representation and participation. The current study echoes the findings of scholars in regard to the limited empowerment of women in rural governance despite electoral reforms and elections. State intervention to address women’s role in rural politics has failed to take into account various constraining factors on participation within the context of rural society itself. In the words of institutional economics, when the transaction costs for women’s participation are high, women abstain not from voting but from playing a more active role in politics. This is particularly so when the costs of participation based on rational, calculable economic interests far outweigh the benefits of participation, given the lack of organisational support and social networks that empower women in terms of their skills, abilities and self-worth.
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Notes
- 1.
Average female participation in both the lower house and upper house or senate of parliaments worldwide is 18.4 % (Inter-Parliamentary Union 2009).
- 2.
Millennium Development Goal 3 Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women. http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview/mdg_goals/mdg3/, last accessed on 20 June 2011.
- 3.
More details can be found at http://www.answers.com/topic/gender-empowerment-measure, last accessed 16 June, 2011.
- 4.
The project leader of the research team is Professor Liu Xiaohong.
- 5.
Respondents were asked on what percentage of the vote count was needed for a decision to be passed in the Village Assembly.
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Ho, CS.B., Li, Q. (2014). Rural Chinese Women’s Political Participation: Problems and Prospects. In: Hao, Z., Chen, S. (eds) Social Issues in China. International Perspectives on Social Policy, Administration, and Practice, vol 1. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2224-2_2
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